title: Electrocortical features of depression and their clinical utility in assessing antidepressant treatment outcome.
abstract: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is primarily characterized by decreased affect and accompanying behavioural consequences, but it is also associated with cognitive dysfunction. Assessment of electroencephalographic (EEG) activity and associated event-related potentials (ERPs; derived from averaged EEG activity in response to a stimulus) in the context of MDD has provided insights into the electrocortical abnormalities associated with the disorder. Importantly, EEG and ERPs also have emerged as candidates for predicting and optimizing antidepressant (AD) treatment outcome. This is critical in light of relatively low remission rates or a limited response to initial AD interventions. In contrast to other neuroimaging approaches, EEG and ERPs may be superior for predicting and monitoring AD response, as electrocortical measures are relatively inexpensive, easy to use, and have excellent temporal (that is, millisecond) resolution, enabling fine-grained assessment of basic cognitive and emotive processes. This review aims to highlight the most consistently noted EEG and ERP features in MDD, which may one day assist with diagnostic confirmation, as well as the potential clinical utility of specific electrocortical measures in aiding with response prediction.
authors.affiliation: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jaworska
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Protzner
mesh_terms: D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000503:physiopathology; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001682:Biological Availability; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D006801:Humans; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents
keywords: antidepressant; diagnosis; electroencephalogram; event-related potentials; major depressive disorder; predictive utility; treatment response